Schwartzman defeats Fritz in Los Cabos for first hard-court title

Third seed Diego Schwartzman lifted his first trophy of 2019 on Saturday night in Los Cabos, fending off Taylor Fritz, 7-6 (6), 6-3. Schwartzman improved to 2-1 against Fritz and avenged an earlier season defeat to the American in Monte Carlo.

The fifth-seeded Fritz held an early break advantage in the first set, but Schwartzman dug back in by extending rallies and going for heavy forehand finishes. He saved three set points to force a tiebreaker, where the two suddenly struggled to find their range and rhythm. Serving at 6-3, Schwartzman committed three successive unforced errors, but was bailed out by Fritz, who hit his third double fault before netting a backhand to drop the set.

Serving at 1-2, 15-30 in the second set, Fritz broke a racquet on his knee after misguiding a forehand. Having already received a code violation for hitting a ball into the crowd earlier in the clash, Fritz incurred a point penalty, resulting in a crucial break for the Argentine. He regrouped to get back on serve, but Schwartzman broke right back to move ahead 5-3 and subsequently served out the victory.

Schwartzman, who reached the Buenos Aires final on home soil in February, clinched his third ATP crown and first away from the clay. He previously finished runner-up on indoor hard at Antwerp in 2016 and 2017. Fritz was contesting his second final in a row, having also finished runner-up in Atlanta to Alex de Minaur.